DOSSIER 

"I think I will comment like this: NATO is a very transparent organization, and if this decision (to start a ground operation in Kosovo or Yugoslavia) is made, it will be immediately made public.

"You know that the NATO summit in Washington discussed all possible decisions. All NATO efforts have now been concentrated on making Belgrade accept NATO's well-known five principles spelled out by Secretary General Xavier Solana and conforming to the UN Security Council resolution passed on Monday, which deal, above all, with the return of refugees to Kosovo and ensuring security. NATO is trying to create conditions for moving in international peacekeeping forces to Kosovo.

"But I would not like to comment now on hypothetical opportunities. No decision on a ground military operation has yet been made."
 
  Gian Luca BERTINETTO, Ambassador of Italy in Ukraine:

"First of all, we regret very much that almost nobody in Ukraine believes that NATO actions are aimed, above all, at protecting the Kosovo population suffering from ethnic cleansing. So the bombings are a reaction to ethnic cleansing, a way to stop them. The bombings will stop if Yugoslavia pulls out its forces and allows about a million refugees to come back under international surveillance. It would be nice if everything in Kosovo went the way it does in an American film. We see there a positive hero, a cowboy, and a villain, a knife-wielding bandit who attempts to murder a good girl. Not a drop of blood is shed in such films. In reality, everything is different. This is a very strange war, also because the NATO countries try to wage it without losses on their side. Nor do they want to kill the Yugoslavs, but this happens, and they have to apologize. We said at the very beginning we do not want a ground intervention. We hope the aim will be achieved through mediation efforts. What shall we do otherwise? Continue to bomb? Launch a ground intervention? The Italian government hopes this will not happen. It hopes the Yugoslav government will start to behave like the government of a civilized European state.

"A sizable majority of Italians support the NATO actions. Of course, nobody likes the bombings, the losses they have incurred, and accidental casualties. There is also a minority in Italy, which opposes the war in general, but, at the same time, almost all Italians are against Milosevic."
 
 
  Joran JACOBSSON, Ambassador of Sweden in Ukraine:

"Our government has not yet expressed its opinion about sending ground forces to Kosovo. But Sweden is ready to take part in peacekeeping forces. In general, the Kosovo issue worries the Swedish public very much. We regard the actions of NATO with understanding. For they were caused by the plight of one and a half million Kosovo refugees."
 
   Dimitris KONTOUMAS, Ambassador of Greece in Ukraine:

"Of course, Greece, as a Balkan country, is very worried about the state of affairs in Yugoslavia. And we do not want bloodshed in that country to continue, we do not want more and more victims. We are against a ground intervention. I am certain Greece is not alone in this position. Also opposed to ground intervention is German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, while the Italian parliament has asked NATO to suspend air strikes for 48 hours in order to seek a diplomatic solution. Greece as well as Ukraine wishes to take part in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo."
 
   Antero INKARI, counselor at the Embassy of Finland in Ukraine:

 "I cannot as yet express the official position of Helsinki on ground intervention in Kosovo. Finland is, naturally, interested in the restoration of peace in this region. This requires a comprehensive plan of long-term peace settlement in the whole southeast region of Europe. The European Union should make a major contribution here. In particular, Finland, a nonmember of NATO but a EU member, should play an important role in peace settlement. The more so that Helsinki assumes the chairmanship of the EU on July 1.

"Finland's position was expressed in general in the government statement, which states 'The key to stopping violence is in the hands of the Belgrade leaders and their acceptance of the principles proposed by the international community'."

By Natalia VIKULINA, Viktor ZAMYATIN, The Day